¿Cómo te sientes ahora?

My visual style has been influenced by my Hispanic-American heritage and it is a consistent theme in my photos. I explore this through various methods and connect these disparate parts through one investigation of my culture.

¿Cómo te sientes ahora? or How Are You Feeling Now? tackle the whole experience (positives and negatives) of being a Latine individual in the United States. My images employ the use of family archives, projections, self-portraiture, sculptures, collages, and representations found on the streets of New York that celebrate the beauty of my culture. It is extremely important to me to express my experience, which is shared by many others. I don't view any of these photos existing apart from the others; even though they were created using different means, I regard them all as part of a lifelong process of cultural discovery that is never-ending and evolves over time. My sentiments towards my culture will continue to evolve as the world does, thus I don't see this work coming to a conclusion.

I began my project in 2021 at age 18, when I began college to pursue a BFA in photography. I knew I wanted to learn more about my culture and its numerous aspects. In doing so, I dug up a lot of buried feelings, and choosing to explore what my culture has to offer has been a form of self-healing. I've addressed serious issues of racism that I or my family have faced. Also discussed was the journey of learning to embrace my culture when others or society around me made it difficult. Themes relating to the pressure and guilt I experience as a first-generation immigrant. I'm also questioning my society, discovering machismo and deep-seated issues like colorism. As you can see, there are many depths to investigating my culture, which is why I refer to it as never-ending work that changes as I develop and mature, and as the world changes and new problems arise, I try to address them.

Since I cover a wide range of concerns, I employ a variety of photographic techniques. I dislike feeling confined in any manner, and some of the ideas I want to express make little sense if done in a specific method. Some topics make sense to be done through projection while others with collage. Along with this, I modify the photographs I create in a variety of ways. All of the photos I create are highly valuable and significant to me since they have immense personal meanings for me and usually take an emotional toll on myself, thus I keep returning to them and modifying them as shown. Finding new ways to present them.